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aewriting · 5 years

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This story idea for 9-1-1 Lone Star hit me last night, and made me realize that I haven't written anything from Carlos's perspective yet. I feel like there's a lot we still don't know about Carlos, but here's my attempt to fill in a few blanks.

Warning for sexual references.

Here it is on AO3, if you prefer.

***

It’s been... a while, since Carlos felt this way. Longer than he really cares to think about. Giddy, almost. Distracted. He’d been surprised when T.K. had texted him about going to a club, taking a friend out with them. “Friend,” huh? Playing third wheel to T.K. and some new guy was not his idea of a fun time. In fact, it made him question T.K.’s motives, even more than he had been already. Because T.K. had been quite the cypher. Here’s what he knew. Real name was Tyler Kennedy. Hot as fuck. Good with his mouth. Good with his whole damn body, actually. And Carlos’s, fuck. Liked it a little rough... maybe even a lot rough, depending. Firefighter. Captain’s son. Moved here from New York City about three months ago. Has been up really high, forty-plus stories on the, the Chrysler building, was it? Going, going through some shit. Obviously. He instigated that fist fight at that shady bar, so some adrenaline-seeking behavior, maybe? Apparently had a bad break up in New York, relapsed, is in recovery now (prefers mineral water), has some mood stuff going on... Is not looking for anything serious right now. So, yeah, he didn’t have the best reaction to the whole text about the club. Until T.K. clarified. Paul just got shot down. Think he needs some fun. Carlos had frowned. Paul. Paul Strickland? He was another firefighter with the 126. Where you thinking? Thought maybe you could guide us. Then, I want to dance. Carlos exhaled. Yeah, he wanted T.K. to dance, too. Preferably with him. There’s Rain on 4th. Sounds good. We get off at 10. Carlos had looked at the phone, debated what he was about to type, wondered if it was too transparent. Paul ok with going to a gay club? Yeah, had come T.K.’s quick reply. He’s straight but he’ll be cool with it. And Carlos had finally relaxed, at that. I’ll drive, he’d typed out, allowing himself a small smile. He’d showered carefully, brushed and flossed his teeth, styled his hair. Put on a little cologne. Spent too much time debating what to wear, because... because he wanted to impress T.K., dammit, but didn’t want it to be obvious. He’d finally settled on a t-shirt and jeans - casual but still nice. Flattering. And, yeah, he’d even gone to one of those drive-through car washes. And when T.K. bounded down the steps of the 126, flashing him a conspiratorial smile and leaning easily against his car, hip to hip with Carlos, he knew that all his preparations had been worth it.

It had felt good, walking into the club next to T.K. - even better when T.K. reached for him, brought him in close. Carlos doesn’t think he’s a particularly possessive guy, not one to show off, either, but there was something about being in that club with T.K., seeing people’s eyes on him, on them, together... it gave him a boost, a direct shot to his ego, having this gorgeous guy on his arm, dancing up against him for anyone to see. Fuck, he’s got it bad. Which is probably why he’s still thinking about it days later. At work. When he should be finishing up a report. He sighs deeply and redirects his attention to his computer. “Hola, Carlos,” comes a familiar, and rather unwelcome voice. “Hello, Roger,” Carlos says, purposefully. Roger was one of only a handful of out cops in the department, and of that small group, he was Carlos’s least favorite. By far. He’d always found him to be overly familiar. Unprofessional. Vain as hell. He’d been relentless when he’d found out Carlos was gay, making pointed comments about how much he wanted to get to know Carlos better, how helpful it would be to let off some steam together... Roger was attractive, and Carlos would be lying if he said he’d never thought about it, but after one particularly lewd comment, Carlos had made it very clear that their... preferences were simply incompatible. While that had at least stopped Roger from directly propositioning him, it didn’t stop the conversation entirely, just shifted it. When Roger approached him now, it was often to brag - about his prowess, his partners. The company dancer with Ballet Austin, the hot barista, the musician... Carlos tried to shut it down, when he could, but with a guy like Roger it was hard sometimes. “How was your weekend?” Roger asks. “Fine,” Carlos says, nonchalant. “Picked up a shift late Friday.” “And after that? You go out?” Roger smiles. “Do anyone fun?” Carlos looks at him sharply, and he’s still grinning. It clearly wasn’t a slip. Roger just tilts his head to the side. “I saw you. At Rain.” Shit. “Yeah?” Carlos says, casually. “Yeah. Waved to you.” “I must have missed you.” Roger shrugs. “Yeah, well, I was up on the second level, and you looked a little, ah, preoccupied.” He gives Carlos a lascivious grin, pulls up a chair, and sits down. Carlos rolls his eyes. “I’m on the clock, here,” he says. “Um, not anymore, Reyes. It’s noon. Lunch break.” Damn him. He must have planned the timing of this. Carlos rubs a hand tiredly over his face. “Eat in the break room with me?” And unfortunately, he can’t think up a good excuse not to, at the moment. “Fine,” Carlos says, tightly. He takes his time getting his lunch out of the shared fridge and heating it up - anything to delay the inevitable conversation with Roger. He knows that look, on Roger, that tone, and he suspects that he hasn’t heard the end of his night out. As expected, Carlos barely sits down before Roger’s talking again. “Quite the little piece of ass you were with. Hope you got some of that. Way he was dancing, kid’s a fucking tease if you didn’t.” He didn’t. Get some. Not in the way Roger means, not that night. What he had gotten, though, was a smile, a genuine one when they’d dropped Paul off at his house, loose and laughing. A firm squeeze of his hand when they’d finally said goodbye at the end of the night. A soft but earnest, “I had a really good time tonight.” Carlos exhales, looks at Roger. “The guys I was out with are colleagues, actually. From the 126. New in town.” He sees the recognition, then, on Roger’s face. The realization. “Oh shit, wait, for real? Was that the new Captain’s son? T.J.? T.R.?” “T.K.,” Carlos says tightly. “That’s it, yeah.” Roger laughs a little. “They came down from New York City, right?” “Yeah,” Carlos replies. Roger grins, all teeth. “Well, shit. Kid knows what he’s doing then, huh?” Carlos frowns. “He and his father have been good additions to the team. Definitely experienced.” Roger barks out a laugh. “I wasn’t talking about that kind of experience.” He shakes his head. “I swear, Carlos, you could be cleaning the fuck up if you would just use a goddamn app. You know how many guys the whole cop thing works for?” He smiles again. “I’ve never fucked a firefighter, though. You think he’s into cops? Or better yet,” Roger leans in closer, winks, “you think he likes it when they’re into him?” And that’s about enough. “Think you’d have to ask him that,” Carlos says, voice cold. He makes a show of snapping his lunch case shut, getting up. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a report to finish.” He’s up and leaving before Roger can say anything else. Moves quickly back to his desk and sits down heavily. Damn. Roger’s comments have left him off-balance, out of sorts. Because he knows, knows he has no claims over T.K. - T.K.’s made that very clear. But the idea of T.K. with someone like Roger... He shakes his head. Nope. Don’t think about it. T.K.’s a grown man who can do whatever the hell he wants. And Carlos is a grown man, too, with a very real report that needs completed before end of shift today. But he can’t stop thinking about it. He knows, more than he wants to, about what Roger’s into… and knows it’s not a bad fit, necessarily, for T.K. And the fact that T.K.’s on Roger’s radar now, well... Carlos can’t help but picture them together - T.K. on his knees for Roger, Roger’s hands on T.K.’s skin, Roger using his body to pull all those wrecked sounds out of him... Shit. This has to stop. He’s not, not usually like this. What the hell is it about T.K. that’s gotten to him like this? He decides to take a lap, goes to the water cooler to refill his bottle. By the time he gets back to his desk, he’s feeling clearer - or at least a little more determined not to think about things he can’t control.

*** It’s almost a week later, and a delegation of first responders is all gathered at city hall for a training about an impending upgrade to the 911 network. Michelle’s there, as are representatives from the 126 - T.K. and Marjan, specifically. Carlos gives a little nod T.K.’s direction, is relieved when T.K. returns the favor. They break for lunch - a catered deal with sandwich fixings, chips, cookies. Carlos is about to rip open a little bag of Lay’s when T.K. approaches him. “Hey.” “Hey,” Carlos replies, looking T.K. over a bit. He looks nervous, almost. “It’s nice out. Wanna sit outside?” Carlos glances to his left, at Michelle, who is just about to start in on her turkey sandwich. She smiles. “It’s pretty bright out, and I don’t have my sunscreen on.” Carlos doesn’t miss her slight smirk, her raised eyebrow. “Why don’t you two go ahead without me?” Carlos gives her a little look, feels the way she kicks him under the table. “Okay. See you in a bit, then.” He grabs his lunch, follows T.K. out to a little picnic table. After some standard pleasantries and a brief discussion about a recent house fire they both worked, T.K. puts his sandwich down. Bites his lip. “You, um, you know a guy named Roger? Roger Sizemore? He’s a cop.” And now Carlos is setting his sandwich down too, responding carefully. “Yeah, I know him. Why?” “Just... I dunno, he was working a call with us - that accident out by the airport yesterday, the bad one.” Carlos nods. “You...” T.K. pauses. “You guys friends, or anything?” He glances down. “Said he knew you, and I wasn’t sure how, if it was just, like, work stuff, or...” He trails off. “Yeah,” Carlos replies quickly. “It’s just work. We’re not, not close or anything.” T.K. seems to relax a bit, at that. “Okay, yeah, I didn’t think so but figured I’d ask.” He looks up at Carlos with those big eyes. “What do you think of him?” He’s an ass, Carlos wants to say. Doesn’t. “He... he can be a bit much, sometimes.” And T.K. blows out a breath, chuckles a little. “Fuck, yeah, glad it wasn’t just me, then.” He shakes his head. “Dude fucking hit on me. Like, hardcore. Right in the middle of a call.” His eyes narrow a bit. “Said... said he heard I liked guys in uniform.” Carlos closes his eyes, briefly. Fucking Roger. “I... god, I’m sorry, T.K. he saw us together out at Rain the other night, with Paul. Asked me about you. Told him that if he was interested, he’d have to ask you, no one else.” T.K. nods, a little tight. “Yeah, well, he asked, alright. Honestly, he’s gonna get himself in trouble with HR if he keeps doing shit like that on the job.” “Don’t I know it,” Carlos mutters. “And I’ve told him that. He used to pull the same thing with me until...” “Until what?” “’Until I turned him down.” T.K. leans back a little in his seat. Looks pleased. “Well, that makes two of us.” Carlos quirks an eyebrow. “Yeah?” “Oh yeah,” T.K. said, a hint of mischief in his voice. “I just told him the truth, though.” “And what’s that?” T.K.’s smile grows. “I just... kindly let him know that I do like a man in uniform. One very specific man.” Carlos’s eyes go almost comically wide. T.K. shrugs. “What can I say, Officer, this whole thing,” he gestures to Carlos’s uniform, “definitely works for me.” He ducks his head, then, looks almost a little shy. “And I know I said I wasn’t looking for anything serious, and then you said you weren’t trying to be my boyfriend, but... truth is I like you and, and I have fun with you, and I hope you don’t mind me saying so.” If they weren’t in the middle of a work function, Carlos would have kissed him right then. Settles for grabbing his hand under the table, squeezing. “Don’t think I’ve ever minded anything less.”

#my fic #911 lone star #tarlos #tk strand #carlos reyes

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argyle-s · 7 years

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SOMETHING JUST LIKE THIS CHAPTER 9/?

Rating: Mature (For Later Chapters)

Read at Ao3

Start at the Beginning

Cat takes steps to deal with everyone who's mistreated Kara.

Chapter 9 - Come to Jesus Jimmy Olsen

When Cat returned to the bullpen it was full again and no one was looking at her in pretty much the same way no one looked at her first thing Monday morning. That was probably wise, considering she was absolutely in the mood to come down on someone like the hammer of God. Part of her really wanted to turn around, go back to Kara’s office, chuck Alex out on her ass and kiss Kara senseless. The other part of her, the rational part, was furious at herself for the line she’d almost crossed. Kara has been upset and vulnerable, and Cat had almost taken advantage of that. For making the same mistake she'd made once before. She wasn’t sure she’d ever forgive herself for.

She and Kara definitely needed to have a talk about what happened, but only once they both had a chance to let their emotions settle. Something that wasn’t likely to happen unless Cat took action on another front.

“Close the door,” Cat said to Eve as Eve followed her into the office.

“Yes, Miss Grant,” Eve said. “Um… do you want me inside, or outside when I do?’

Cat turned around, fully intending to deliver an absolutely scathing remark, right up until she remembered the empty bullpen when she’d lead Kara through. Instead, she swallowed the comment, because while Eve might not be Kara, she *was* good at her job, and because Eve had done nothing wrong and a lot right.

“Inside, please,” Cat said before walking around and sitting at her desk.

Eve closed the door, then came back and stood in front of Cat’s desk, notepad at the ready.

“First, I want you to call security. Clark Kent is banned from the building until further notice. I want a hard copy of his picture posted at all four visitors sign in stations, as well as in the security monitoring station on the twentieth floor. I also want instructions posted that he is to be asked to leave once, and if he does not comply, the police *and* FBI Special Agent Alex Danvers are to be called immediately and a formal complaint is to be filed even if he leaves before the police arrive. If he’s still here when the police arrive, I want him arrested for trespassing.”

“Second, I want you go down to HR, and have them call someone down from legal. I want three sets of paperwork prepared on James Olsen. The first set is a formal complaint for grossly unprofessional conduct with a two-week suspension without pay. The second set is a formal charge of harassment following the termination of a romantic relationship, along with an at fault termination packet. The third is a contract buy out at one hundred percent value. I want myself listed as the complaining party on the first set of paperwork, and Kara Danvers listed as the complaining party on the second set of paperwork. Tell legal I also want them to draw up a self defense incident report, with Clark Kent listed as the aggressing party, and Kara Danvers listed as the person being attacked. Tell them I want the paperwork prepared, but not filed. Once all three packets on Olsen are finished, I want them delivered to me, then I want you to find Olsen and tell him I want to see him.”

“Yes, Miss Grant. Anything else?”

“Yes,” Cat said. “Do you know Alison Mercer in HR?”

“Yes,” Eve said.

“Speak with her alone. Make sure no one overhears you. Tell her I want her to fill out a packet twenty-seven with today’s date and sent to my office. She’ll ask you for names. Give her mine and Kara Danvers. Speak of this to no one else, and once it’s done, forget it ever happened.”

“Yes, Miss Grant.”

“Also, clear my entire schedule for tomorrow, then put down a meeting with Kara form 10:00 AM until noon. See that Snapper is informed that she’ll be unavailable during that time. Tell him that if he has a problem with it, he can call Vicki Vale and offer her his job.”

“Yes, Miss Grant. Anything else?”

“That’s all,” Cat said. “Close the door as you leave.”

Eve nodded and turned, heading for the door while Cat leaned back and took a deep breath, considering what she’d just done. Alison Mercer was the head of enforcement for the CatCo Code of Conduct. Her entire job was to make sure that every employee in the building lived up to the exacting standards Cat had set down when she’d founded CatCo, and one of those standards was that Cat Grant was absolutely not going to sit around and allow any executive to force themselves on an underling. No one other than Cat or Alison in the building would have any idea what a “packet twenty-seven” was, because that wasn’t the official designation for the packet of paperwork. The official name was “Order for the Termination of a Board Reporting Employee for Inappropriate Sexual Advances Towards a Subordinate.”

Under under the terms of the CatCo Company Charter, the Board was required to investigate the allegations contained in a packet twenty-seven, and if the allegations were confirmed, the board had no choice but to remove the employee in question from their position. The employee would also forfeit all outstanding stock options, all CatCo 401K matching contributions, their pension and severance package, and under the terms of all board reporting contracts, would be required to sell all shares of CatCo back to the board at eighty percent of current market value.

The fact that Cat had requested the filed the paperwork be prepared herself would be a de facto confession, meaning there wouldn’t even be an investigation. If she told Alison to file those papers, she wouldn’t finish out the day.

It wouldn’t ruin her. Not financially. Even without her CatCo stock Cat was a billionaire ten times over. The trust funds for Carter and Adam were already established, so even if she was bankrupted by the nearly inevitable lawsuits, her sons would be taken care of. It would absolutely destroy her legacy though. Everything she’d ever said about protecting women in the workplace would instantly become a joke, undermined by her own hypocrisy. But she absolutely could not call James Olsen out for his bad behavior if she wasn’t willing to own up to her own.

However, she had other things to take care of first.

She picked up her cell phone, scrolled down to the contact marked ‘Lesser Lane’, and hit send.

“Hey, Cat,” Lois said when she picked up. “How’s the Evil Queen business treating you?”

“Not good,” Cat said. “One of my reporters just slapped a reporter from another paper so hard it drew blood. It’s a mess. One of my department heads was involved. My reporter has a pretty good case for self-defense, as well as a case for harassment against the department head in question, but this has the potential to turn into a complete shitstorm if the other reporter or the department head decide to make a stink, or someone talks to the press.”

“Um, Cat, I know you don’t think much of my reporting skills, but you do remember I *am* a member of the press, right?” Lois asked.

“Unfortunately, that’s not something I can really forget, no matter how much scotch I consume. I just thought you might like a head’s up as to why your boyfriend has a split lip and a hand shaped bruise on his face.”

“WHAT?” Lois screamed.

“Oh, keep it down. But you might want to let him know he’s banned from the building, and the security guards have instructions to have him arrested for trespassing if he shows up here again.”

“Cat, who the hell hit Clark?” Lois asked.

“Kara Danvers,” Cat said. “I don’t know what the hell your farm boy was thinking, but what he said to her… It was bad, Lois. And Olsen was right in the middle of it.”

“Jesus fucking Christ on a crutch,” Lois said. “What the hell did James do?”

“Ask him yourself,” Cat said. “Mr. Olsen is about to find himself with an abundance of free time.”

“You’re firing him?” Lois asked.

“I’d like too,” Cat said. “But I’m going to leave the final decision up to Kara.”

“That’s not like you, Cat. What’s really going on?” Lois asked.

Cat let out a sigh. “What’s going on is James Olsen is an outstanding art director, one of the most talented photo journalists in the world and would very likely have succeeded me as CEO of CatCo Worldwide media. Except the way he treated your sister made one of the most talented lawyers I’ve ever seen walk away from a seven figure salary after three months, and he seems completely incapable of processing the idea that Kara isn’t just your farm boy in a skirt.”

“Wait, what?”

“James and Clark are both unhappy with a decision Kara made during the Doomsday event a couple of weeks ago.”

There was silence on the line for nearly two minutes, before Lois spoke again.

“You know, don’t you?” Lois asked.

“Yes,” Cat said. “It took me about two months to figure it out. Which is an embarrassingly long time, I admit.”

“It took me two fucking years,” Lois said.

“Well, yes, but I that’s you,” Cat said.

“Kara really hit him?” Lois asked.

“Yes,” Cat said. “I saw it coming. I tried to stop it, but James got in my way.”

“I’ll talk to Clark. But Cat, banning him from the building…”

“Lois, if you know who Kara is, you know what she’s been through,” Cat said.

“Yeah, I do,” Lois said.

“Then you’ll understand why when you hear what he said. Well, assuming he has the good sense to leave town before Alex Danvers or J’onn J’onzz catch him. If he doesn’t, well, I could probably get you Aquaman’s phone number.”

“I’ll call him and suggest he come home,” Lois said. “Thanks for the head’s up.”

“You might want to talk to Perry about getting James his old job back,” Cat said. “If Kara wants James gone, I’m going to revoke his National City privileges.”

“That’s low, Cat, even… No, you know what, I’m going to wait until I know what’s going on before I open my mouth, because honestly, I’m still pissed at James for what went down with Lucy.”

“Good choice,” Cat said.

“Yeah. Thanks for ruining my day, by the way.”

“Always a pleasure,” Cat said, then she lowered her phone and hit the end call button.

***

“You wanted to see me?” James said as he came to a stop in front of her desk.

“Have a seat, Mr. Olsen,” Cat said.

“I figured you’d want me standing for this,” he said as he lowered himself into one of the chairs opposite her.

“Oh, I think we’re well past theatrics and power games,” Cat said. “You see, James, I *hate* repeating myself. I really do. So, I’m going to keep this short. Your behavior is unacceptable. Kara asked you not to bring your personal issues into the work place. You ignored her wishes and tried to pressure her into a conversation she did not want to have. You created a scene which could have embarrassed her personally and professionally had I not intervened. Then, today, you and Kent brought an outside issue into Kara’s place of work, created a public spectacle which I can only assume hasn’t found its way onto TMZ and Buzzfeed because everyone out there in the bullpen loves Kara. A spectacle which could have been avoided if you hadn’t kept me from interfering when the initial disagreement began to escalate.”

“You’re going to blame me for that?” James asked with a look of disbelief on his face. “You’re the one who insisted they talk on the balcony.”

“Not helping your case,” Cat said. “I knew the entire situation was trouble the moment I saw you and Kent talking. I wanted the situation where I could keep an eye on it, and if you hadn’t gotten in my way, I might have been able to stop the argument from escalating to the point where Kara felt that a physical response was necessary.”

“Necessary? You think Kara hitting Clark was necessary?”

“What I think is irrelevant,” Cat said. “Kara obviously did.”

James shook his head. “You don’t have any idea what that conversation was about.”

Cat stepped on the impulse to tell James she knew exactly what the conversation was about, because no matter how badly she’d screwed up today, she was not going to violate Kara’s confidence.

“I didn’t need to,” Cat said. “If Kara reacted that way to something Clark said, then I know he crossed a line because I know Kara.”

“Not as well as you’d like to,” James muttered.

Cat just raised one eyebrow as she stared at James and waited. It took a couple of seconds for him to realize what he’d said, and Cat, for all the effort she was making to keep the meeting civil, relished the look of panic on his face.

“Are you done, Mr. Olsen?” she asked in a tone slightly colder than Kara’s freeze breath.

“Miss Grant, I didn’t mean-”

“Don’t insult me,” Cat said. “You meant it. In fact, it’s probably the most honest thing you’ve said since you walked in here. So, let me be equally honest. When you arrived at CatCo I had a lot of respect for you and very high expectations. I hired you with the express purpose of slotting you into the succession plan for when I eventually retired. But I began to question that decision when I saw the way you reacted to me hiring Lucy Lane. She was an amazingly competent woman who would have been a tremendous asset to CatCo had your behavior not driven her away. And now, your behavior is creating problems for an absolutely astonishing young woman who has a tremendous amount of potential. Your behavior. Your inability to accept the validity of Kara’s choices and feelings, on top of your insistence on trying to push her into being something she doesn’t want to be.”

“You are really going to sit there and lecture me on how to treat Kara?” James asked. “Really?”

“Oh, Mr. Olsen, I admit, I’m the last person who should be lecturing anyone on how they should treat Kara. And yet, here we are. Again.”

“Now, fortunately for you, Mr. Olsen, today does not involve an angry Kryptonian on space drugs tossing you off a forty-story building, but make no mistake, this *is* your come to Jesus moment. The only reason you still currently have a job is that Kara has not filed a formal complaint.” Cat reached down and opened the file drawer in her desk and pulled out three manila envelopes. She sat two on her desk and held the third one up.

“This is your for-cause termination packet. All it needs is Kara’s signature on a harassment complaint. One I will offer her the chance to sign tomorrow.” She returned the termination packet to her desk drawer.

“Now, Kara is the forgiving type. She always sees the best in people, and wants to believe they can change, that they can do better. So, I know the chances of her *ever* signing that harassment complaint are close to zero. I also know that if I fire you because of this, she will be eaten alive by the guilt. Which is why I had these prepared.” Cat slid the other two envelopes cross her desk to James.

“One of those is a contract buy out at one hundred percent of the value of your remaining contract. The other is a two-week suspension without pay and a formal letter of reprimand for your personnel file. You can walk away from CatCo today, with three years and nine months’ worth of pay, a cash bonus equal to the current value of your stock options, and a clean personnel file, or you can spend two weeks on unpaid leave getting your head on straight, then come back here and act like you have some concept of how to conduct yourself in the work place. But, if you decide not to take the buyout, and I’m wrong about how forgiving Kara is, you will walk away with nothing. But if you decide to stay, that letter of reprimand will go in your file, and if there is *ever* another incident, I won’t need Kara’s cooperation to fire you for cause.”

James stared at her for a moment, and Cat could see the absolute fury in his eyes as he reached for a pen. He picked up the packet with the suspension paperwork, opened it and signed in four separate places before shoving the paperwork back across the desk.

“Two things before you go,” Cat said. “First, I had Miss Teschmacher book you on a red eye to Metropolis. You’ll find the ticket details in your personal email. I think a break from National City would help you get some perspective.”

James just sat there, staring at her.

“Second, if I ever catch wind of you dating another CatCo employee, I don’t care how upset Kara gets. I *will* fire you on the spot. I told you before, twice is dangerously close to becoming a pattern of behavior. I will not put up with your bullshit a third time.”

“Now, get out of my office.”

#supergirl #supercat #kara danvers #cat grant #kara x cat #fanfiction #slow burn #something just like this

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gothic-chicanery · 8 years

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Two Towns, Both Alike in Dignity

Parts: 2/? 1

Pairing: Cecilos

Summary: The course of true love never did run smooth, and this is no exception. A radio host and a scientist, separated by the enmity of the towns they live in, fall in love. A Cecilos Romeo and Juliet AU.

Warnings: Some Strex creepiness

Dedication: To my friend WHO MADE ME FANART

Wordcount: 1722

Tags: @xaandiir @ass-gardiann @doodlethebarisax @heartsandhachets

A/N: Thank you to everyone who read this and liked it and reblogged it, you guys are amazing! Also, welcome to some fun times with Strex Corp!

Lauren sat in the Strex Corp branded yellow office chair for her monthly evaluation and check in with the President of the company. Her posture, like everything else about her, was calculated to maximum efficiency. However, it held a peculiar stiffness. In fact, her whole body was tense, as though every bone, muscle, and nerve were screaming a terrified message that her altered mind could not hear.

The Smiling God was different every time they met. He, she, it, Lauren wasn’t sure, had no permanent form, at least not one that could speak, so it would inhabit a new body for each of their meetings. Today the form it had chosen...disconcerted her somewhat. The Smiling God had borrowed the body of a small girl, probably no more than 6 years old. Lauren had always hated children, and this girl looked too much like herself at that age for her to be entirely comfortable with the conversation. Come to think of it, the girl looked exactly like the photographs that she had seen of herself at that age.

“How are things progressing?” it asked in a high-pitched, girlish tone that held the familiar timbre of her own voice, further unnerving Lauren. She shuddered involuntarily at the sound and immediately cursed herself for the reaction. Why would she shudder? Strex Corp was a wonderful company that treated its employees like family! And the president was capable, forgiving, and an all-in-all amazing leader! She’d had nothing to complain about since she had joined the company. So then….why had she shuddered?

Lauren began to give her report, anxious that it had noticed the momentary lapse. “All going just as great as great can be!” she said, mustering as much enthusiasm as possible as she could. “Productivity is 110% as usual and business continues well. There have been minor altercations with the inhabitants of Night Vale, but our workforce has always come out the victor and come back with only minor injuries that don’t affect their efficiency. Some even reported that the boost of adrenaline helped increase their productivity!”

She bit back the words she had been about to say relating to those fights and a certain Voice of the company. It was...unprofessional for him to get into those petty battles. However, she knew that it would have no effect to include that in her report. Lauren would never accuse the Smiling God of favoritism, but it had always had a fondness for Kevin. Besides, even if he was summoned to a company meeting to talk about his behavior, Kevin would weasel his way out of it somehow. He could twist words and make them dance like marionettes to whatever tune pleased him, Lauren thought bitterly.

The Smiling God leaned forward, placing its childlike hands on the table that separated the two. Lauren noticed a birthmark on the borrowed child’s arm, a small red cloud that sparked a long suppressed memory. Didn’t she use to have a birthmark like that? A quick glance at her own arm showed nothing but smooth skin, but then again Strex had removed all imperfections when she had joined. “Very good Lauren,” it said, breaking her out of her thoughts once again, “You are truly an asset to this company. Is that all? No setbacks? Remember, there is no mistake that cannot be...corrected.”

Lauren nodded, remembering some times she had been corrected. “There is one...what shall we call it...an irregularity. No one’s fault, but just one of those things that happen sometimes.”

The Smiling God’s smile dropped for a moment and Lauren had to suppress every reflex in her body to avoid shuddering again. “Really,” it said, voice devoid of inflection, “What is this...irregularity as you call it?”

“Oh it's nothing serious,” Lauren assured it, “I remember telling you about a scientist who came here to study our town, saying something about how it was the most scientifically interesting place he had ever observed. I welcomed him into our town, as you advised me in our last meeting, but since then, he’s declined all our kind invitations to join the company, saying something about how he is already employed by his university. He has been encouraged to help us out with a few little projects, but he’s not part of our family yet, and he would be a valuable asset to our company.”

The Smiling God paused for a second, considering the situation. “There is a way. It is somewhat archaic, but business has always been about mixing the old with the new.”

“Yes?”

“Briefly, a marriage contract,” the Smiling God answered. “I propose we have a celebration, and let the scientist choose among the higher ups of the company. Use whatever influence you have to get him to agree. Kevin’s good with words, you can request for him to help you out. Strex Corp is a company that takes pride in tying up loose ends and I’m trusting you to get rid of this one. Besides, I haven’t been to a party in millennia.”

Lauren nodded, relishing the chance to make up for her earlier lapses. “You can count on me!”

“Wonderful. Now I must leave, this host is starting to fall apart, and I’d hate to deprive this company of such a valuable addition to its future workforce,” it said, examining the girl’s hand, which had begun to disintegrate and a blinding light was beginning to shine through. “Until next time, Lauren,” it said, before the unnatural light left the girl’s body and she collapsed to the floor.

Lauren took only a moment to calm her heartbeat, which had increased exponentially before turning around to face Daniel, the Strex supervisor, and turning him back on. She was the picture of efficiency, not a moment wasted, and the smile plastered on her face showed that she was happy to do her work. If the Smiling God was watching, and there was no doubt it was, then it would see nothing less than the very model of what a Strex Corp employee should be.

“Daniel, spread the news. We are going to have an office party, to officially welcome Carlos the Scientist to Desert Bluffs! Everyone invited is strongly encouraged to attend. And if you have time, could you head down into Night Vale and make sure our lovely Voice isn’t getting into anymore fights. I want to keep him in peak working condition.” Lauren looked at the girl, and the girl looked at her, tears falling from her mist grey eyes that matched Lauren’s own.

“Make sure she gets back where she belongs,” Lauren told Daniel, before getting back to her desk, and back to work.

In another town, another, later, time, Michelle was reluctantly fulfilling her promise to Leonard and visiting Cecil at his house. From the dust that had gathered on the furniture, Michelle guessed that her assumption made last night had been correct; the place didn’t look like anyone had been in it for weeks. She hoped Leonard didn’t expect her to tidy the place up, because there was no way that was going to happen. Mentally, she reviewed her plan of action, she would get Cecil out of the studio, attempt to give him a life, and if after that he crawled back into his radio cave and never came out again, that was not her problem.

Cecil was still asleep, so Michelle stood around awkwardly in the hall, listening to her music and feeling like a stalker. Unfortunately, it cannot be revealed what she was listening to, as then it would become too mainstream. After a little while, Cecil came out into the hallway, looking like a mess, though somewhat better for having had sleep.

“Did I miss my broadcast?” Cecil asked, attempting to run out the door before Michelle grabbed his arm.

“No, you didn’t, you’re fine,” Michelle reassured him, rolling her eyes. “Ok Cecil. Maureen hijacked a Strex robot which was really cool, and apparently there’s going to be some kind of party tomorrow or whatever. So anyway, we’re going to crash it, and you’re coming with us.”

Cecil looked back at her, briefly tempted by the offer, but then just shook his head. “Sorry Michelle, but I have too much to do. Radio is important. Community radio is important.”

Oh well, Michelle thought. She had tried. Then a thought hit her, something that might persuade Cecil. “It might be a good broadcast topic. The secret office parties of Desert Bluffs. Save it for a slow news day.”

Cecil paused and Michelle could see him turning over the offer in his mind. After some contemplation, he looked at her confused. “Why do you care what I do?”

Michelle shrugged. “Leonard told me to, I owed him a favor, so here I am.”

“Michelle, Leonard’s dead,” Cecil said.

She shrugged again. “Whatever. Just come to this party with Maureen and I, and then we can go back to our antisocial lives and never bother the other again. Besides, it’ll give you a good story to tell on the air.”

Cecil considered again. He was so tired, not much physically, he had slept well for the first time in months, but mentally. He was exhausted with the world and all that was in it. Days seemed to drag on for weeks, but the years slipped by like days. Friends and family had drifted away, or maybe he had; the distinction was irrelevant. All that mattered these days was the hour or so a day he spent speaking through a microphone, telling the citizens of Night Vale all the news they were allowed to hear. Going to a party was not part of that.

But yet, Cecil found himself tempted by the offer. He remembered days when he would do things like this, go to parties, talk to people face-to-face and not just through the radio. It was completely unprofessional to crash a party that he wasn’t invited to, much less one held by the Strex-owned town of Desert Bluffs. It was probably even illegal, given the way things were run there.

This all might have been the reason why Cecil found himself agreeing to meet Michelle and Maureen at 7:00 the following night. And, despite his earlier objections, Cecil began to feel more excited about tomorrow night’s adventures.

#wtnv #welcome to night vale #cecilos #cecil #carlos #kevin #lauren #strex corp #my trashcan romeo and juliet au returns #with lots of strex creepiness #and i figured out how to work read more this time #i hope

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vhalyria · 8 years

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Adolf Hitler and Donald Trump - a dangerous parity?

I’m worried. I’m so worried that I can barely sleep at night, and it’s giving me stomach cramps. Because we’ve been here before, and we need to talk about this.

So, my unprofessional, biased ass sat down for a few hours and tried to collect everything it knew about Hitler and Trump, in order to see if it’s just a bad feeling that I’m having, or if my fear is justified.

As I said, I am not a journalist or anything else, I simply did some research alongside the stuff I still remembered from my history classes and books. Sources can be seen at the end, although many of them are in german, sorry.

I won’t go much into the reasons behind Hitler’s and Trump’s behavior, because I don’t care what turned them into the people they were/are. Also, I tried to keep this as neutral as possible, only relying on facts (and no, those aren’t alternative). There are probably a few things I’ve forgotten about, but feel free to add them!

1.) Where did they come from?

Hitler: Adolf Hitler was the oldest of three siblings, born in Austria in 1889. Growing up, he started to care less and less about school and eventually dropped out without graduation. After that, he applied for a place at an art school, multiple times, but got rejected every time. He has spent a few years in poverty until he joined the army in WWI. After that, he joined the NSDAP and eventually became their leader. The rest should be known.

Trump: Donald Trump was born in 1976, as the fourth of five children. His father, the son of german immigrants, was a real estate businessman. After graduating from High School, Trump studied economics and eventually took on his father’s business. He joined the Republicans in 1987, and became their candidate for the election in 2015.

2.) How was it possible for them to become so popular/get voted?

Hitler: Hitler made the people like him because he was using their anger and their fears for his own means. After WWI, Germany was financially and socially destroyed. The Treaty of Versaille asked them to pay a lot of money for reparation, they had to reduce their military force to an absolute minimum and due to the high sanctions and the new yorker stock crash, an inflation came over the country, causing many people to lose their homes and all their savings. The people were scared about their future and felt betrayed by the government, because it was them who had to pay for everything. Radical groups arised and Hitler not only recognized those fears; he built his policy on them. He promised to create many new jobs, that the countries that won the war will pay them back because they were the guilty ones in his eyes, that no one will have to be homeless and hungry anymore. He promised to take revenge on those countries, even if that meant starting another war. Hitler promised to “give Germany its pride back”, and people believed him.

Trump: The rich are getting richer, the poor are losing what little they have left. That’s how people in the US felt when Trump got voted. They didn’t trust their government, even having multiple jobs wasn’t enough to pay the rent anymore and on top of that, terrorists kill people all over the world. The citizens were afraid and worried, they wanted to find a way out of their misery and feel safe. And that’s what Trump promised to provide them; he promised to make “America great again”, to create work for the american people so that no one has to be poor anymore. He said he would lead the fight against terrorism, and his people wouldn’t have to be scared anymore. Trump promised “America comes first”, and the people believed him.

3.) Personality traits that made people like them

Hitler: The one thing that every history book and every documentation about Hitler never leave out; he was a great rhetoritian. He was able to inspire to people, to make them believe everything, to cheer for anything he says. He was confident and determined.

Another thing that made him popular, was that he gave his people someone else to blame for their misery than themselves or the government; the jews. According to Hitler, they were at fault for everything bad that has ever happened in Germany, and people felt comforted by that thought. It takes the blame from them by assigning it to someone else; it made living easier.

By that, Hitler also managed to make the germans feel like a community; united by hate towards a minority, but united, still. He fed them the illusion that he would lead them to wealth and happiness, and that everything will be turning out greatly for them, as long as they’re supporting him.

Trump: Trump is a rich man, someone who calls himself a successful businessman. He made it to the top, and that inspired the people. He makes the American Dream seem still alive, and on top of that, he promises that he will be the one to lead the United States into a bright future, with lots of work, wealth and unity. He is a confident person and by talking like the common people, he makes them feel like they could relate to him. Like Hitler, he uses the fear of the people and unites them in hate towards minorities; the mexicans are to blame, the people of color and the muslims. They are the reason for misery in the US, but he can change that, he can throw these people out of the country and “make America great again”.

4.) A list of the exact things they promised:

Hitler:

- “Deutschland über alles” (”Germany above everything”)

- to overturn the Treaty of Versailles and stop reparation payment

- to “give Germany its pride back”

- to re-arm Germany and to enlarge their military force

- to create jobs (by expanding the army)

- a strong government and stability

- a better life for the lower and the middle class

- to make Germany “a power country” again

Trump:

- “America First”

- “Make America great again”

- to cancel Obamacare to reduce costs

- to build a wall to Mexico

- to send immigrants back to their countries so that american citizens can have their jobs

- to send troops back into war zones and to enlarge the military force

- banishment of muslims

- tax reduction

- to bring back manufacturing jobs

- to step back from several international trading agreements

- to lead the fight against ISIS

5.) Foreign policy

Hitler: Hitler wanted Germany to become a global leading power again and to expand the german territory. He worked on an intense connection to fascist Italy, while he had an anti-russia policy. Promised other countries freedom while already planning to take over Europe, Hitler eventually declared war to Poland, which led to WWII.

Trump: Trumps goals when it comes to foreign policy are to work together closely with Russia, to step back from several international trade agreements, to impose penalties on several branches of import, to fight against ISIS and to support Israel in their conflict with Palestine, to name a few of the endless plans he talked about

6.) The role and value of women

Hitler: Hitlers policy understood women as barely more than birth machines. His propaganda made it look like being mother to (the more, the better) aryan children is the best thing to ever happen to a woman. It was socially unacceptable for a woman to go to work, they needed to stay at home to look after the children and to keep the house clean for their husbands. Women were a thing to be owned, their opinion didn’t matter. Emancipation was seen as something “evil” that the jews brought into Germany.

Trump: Trump treats woman without respect and like a thing to be owned. According to him, a woman’s worth it determined by her attractiveness and they should feel honored when he gropes them or makes obscene comments about them. Trumps policy is anti-abortion, he wants to take the right to decide over their bodies and lives away from american women.

7.) The treatment of minorities

Hitler: Hitler used the jews as scapegoats for everything bad that happened. It was their fault that people lived in poverty, that women wanted to have a say about their lives, that germany lost the war etc. His party supported and encouraged violence against jewish people (the ”Kristallnacht”, for example), and they got socially seperated from the rest of the society. Sad peek of Hitler’s anti semitism was the torture and killing of millions of jews, within Germany and from other countries, in concentration camps. Over six million jews had to die.

Homosexuals and people with disabilities often got the same treatment.

Trump: Not only once did Trump say what he thinks about Mexicans; they are rapists, criminals, they’re bringing drugs and misery into his country. “Some sure are nice, though.”, he says. He’s using them the same way Hitler used the jews; he blames them for everything. They are stealing jobs from americans, they are endangering the public safety, all they do is create chaos and crimes.

His opinion about people of color isn’t better; he stated that he doesn’t support the Black Lives Matter Movement. “If Black lives matter, go back to Africa”, is what he said. He also believes that racism would not exist anymore. On several occasions he has encouraged his supporters to verbal and physical attacks towards people of color. He also claims that the era of slavery was a good time for the US and ignores police brutality towards poc’s.

Trump wants to ban muslims from entering/staying in the US. As we all know he already tried to do that a few days ago, but fortunately, a court declared his action to not be legal. Trump also made fun of people with disabilities.

8.) How they deal with the media

Hitler: Adolf Hitler knew how to use the media for himself. “The press is an instrument for education to bring 70 million people to an unified world view”, is one of the things he said. The principle was easy; every newspaper or radio station that wasn’t supporting him by reporting what he wanted them to report about, got banned. Resisting journalists and leader of companies got fired and also arrested in some cases. Hitlers party used the media for their propaganda, freedom of speech and press didn’t mean anything anymore.

Trump: Trump hates the media. While he enjoys the attention given to him, he can’t deal with negative reports. He calls those journalists “liars”, claims that they are spreading “alternate facts”, that only his point of view is the truth. Trumps party sees journalists as “part of the opposition”, and says they should “just shut up and listen”. Apparently, there were already plans made to ban the press from the White House. During Trump’s inauguration, the first journalists already got arrested.

(Personal) Conclusion:

Their differences:

- Hitler knew how to make the media work for him, Trump doesn’t (yet)

- Trump grew up wealthy and with academic success, Hitler grew up poorly and dropped out of school without graduation

- Trump’s politic is pro-russia, Hitler’s was anti-russia

- Hitler wanted to expand the german territory while Trump want to build a wall

- Hitler’s policy aimed to start a war

And, most importantly:

Their similarities:

- Power hungry, radical, racist, misogynistic

- use prejudices against minorities, support violence against them

- “America First” and “Germany above everything” are the same damn thing

- Unite people through hate

- mainly voted by people who aren’t wealthy, scared for their future

- creating jobs by extending the military, taking “stolen” jobs “back” from immigrants/women

- wanting their countries to be the first in everything, don’t care what it takes

- against freedom of speech and press

- enforcement of military power, getting ready for war

- give their people a minority to blame for all the existing misery

- aggressive, short tempered, determined

- no respect for human life

I don’t know about you, but I think this is terrifying.

Like I said, I have probably forgotten about a lot. Feel free to add!

Sources: x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x

#never again is now #donald trump #adolf hitler #anti donald trump #trump and hitler #tw holocaust #tw hitler #tw antisemitism #tw racism #politics #comparison #i needed to get this out #we need to talk about this #also i'm not an expert so let me live please #now i'm too sad to continue staying awake #good night

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